Transaction management system, transaction management method and program

ABSTRACT

A power feeding management apparatus includes: a power feeding side identification information acquiring unit that acquires power feeding side identification information for identifying the power feeding side from a device or a user&#39;s communication terminal in the power feeding side; a power receiving side identification information acquiring unit that acquires power receiving side identification information for identifying the power receiving side from a device or a user&#39;s communication terminal in the power receiving side; a power feeding information acquiring unit that acquires power feeding information about a power amount fed from the device in the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the device in the power receiving side; and a transmission unit that associates with one another: the power feeding side identification information; the power receiving side identification information; and the power feeding information, and transmits them to a transaction management apparatus.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation application of International Application No.PCT/JP2017/033781, filed on Sep. 19, 2017, which claims priority toJapanese Patent Application No. 2016-183544, filed on Sep. 20, 2016, thecontents of each of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Technical Field

The present invention relates to a transaction management system, atransaction management method and a program.

2. Related Art

A charging cable is known which is used for charging an electric vehicle(for example, refer to Patent Documents 1 to 2).

-   Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No.    2011-188588-   Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent No. 5459074

SUMMARY

For a broader use of electric vehicles and the like, it is desired toimprove convenience or reliability of a power transaction.

In a first aspect of the present invention provided is a transactionmanagement system. The transaction management system described aboveincludes, for example, a power feeding management apparatus that managesa power feeding from a power feeding side to a power receiving side. Thetransaction management system described above includes, for example, atransaction management apparatus that manages a power transactionbetween a power feeding side and a power receiving side. In thetransaction management system described above, the power feedingmanagement apparatus may include a power feeding side identificationinformation acquiring unit that acquires power feeding sideidentification information for identifying the power feeding side from adevice in the power feeding side or a user's communication terminal inthe power feeding side. In the transaction management system describedabove, the power feeding management apparatus may include a powerreceiving side identification information acquiring unit that acquirespower receiving side identification information for identifying thepower receiving side from a device in the power receiving side or auser's communication terminal in the power receiving side. In thetransaction management system described above, the power feedingmanagement apparatus may include a power feeding information acquiringunit that acquires power feeding information about a power amount fedfrom the device in the power feeding side or a power amount fed to thedevice in the power receiving side. In the transaction management systemdescribed above, the power feeding management apparatus may include atransmission unit that associates with one another: the power feedingside identification information acquired by the power feeding sideidentification information acquiring unit; the power receiving sideidentification information acquired by the power receiving sideidentification information acquiring unit; and the power feedinginformation acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit,and transmits them to the transaction management apparatus that managesthe power feeding side identification information, the power receivingside identification information and the power feeding information. Inthe transaction management system described above, the transactionmanagement apparatus may include a transaction information acquiringunit that acquires, from the transmission unit via a communicationnetwork, transaction information in which the power feeding sideidentification information, the power receiving side identificationinformation and the power feeding information are associated with oneanother. In the transaction management system described above, thetransaction management apparatus may include a transaction informationstorage unit that stores the transaction information acquired by thetransaction information acquiring unit.

In a second aspect of the present invention provided is a transactionmanagement system. The transaction management system described aboveincludes, for example, a transaction management apparatus that manages apower transaction between a power feeding side and a power receivingside. In the transaction management system described above, thetransaction management apparatus may include a transaction informationacquiring unit that acquires transaction information in which: (a) powerfeeding side identification information for identifying the powerfeeding side; (b) power receiving side identification information foridentifying the power receiving side; and (c) power feeding informationabout a power amount fed from a device in the power feeding side or apower amount fed to a device in the power receiving side are associatedwith one another, from at least one of: (i) a power feeding managementapparatus that manages a power feeding from the power feeding side tothe power receiving side; (ii) the device in the power feeding side,(iii) a user's communication terminal in the power feeding side, (iv)the device in the power receiving side, and (v) a user's communicationterminal in the power receiving side, via a communication network. Inthe transaction management system described above, the transactionmanagement apparatus may include a transaction information storage unitthat stores the transaction information acquired by the transactioninformation acquiring unit.

In the transaction management system according to the first and thesecond aspects described above, the transaction information acquiringunit may acquire first transaction information in which the powerfeeding side identification information is associated with the powerfeeding information, from the device in the power feeding side or theuser's communication terminal in the power feeding side via thecommunication network. In the transaction management system describedabove, the transaction information acquiring unit may acquire secondtransaction information in which the power receiving side identificationinformation is associated with the power feeding information, from thedevice in the power receiving side or the user's communication terminalin the power receiving side via the communication network. In thetransaction management system described above, the transactionmanagement apparatus may include a comparison unit that compares a poweramount indicated by the first transaction information with a poweramount indicated by the second transaction information.

In the transaction management system according to the first and thesecond aspects described above, the transaction management apparatus mayinclude an intermediation unit that intermediates in the powertransaction between the power receiving side and the power feeding side.In the transaction management system described above, the transactionmanagement apparatus may include an agreement information generatingunit that generates agreement information including at least one of thepower feeding side identification information and the power receivingside identification information, if the power transaction in which theintermediation unit intermediates reaches an agreement. In thetransaction management system described above, the transactionmanagement apparatus may include an encryption unit that encrypts theagreement information by using a third encryption key that correspondsto a third decryption key stored in the power feeding managementapparatus.

In the transaction management system according to the first and thesecond aspects described above, the transaction management apparatus mayinclude: an authentication information acquiring unit that acquiresinformation in which (a) at least one of: measuring unit identificationinformation and power feeding management apparatus identificationinformation is associated with (b) authentication information, from atleast one of: (i) the power feeding management apparatus that managesthe power feeding from the power feeding side to the power receivingside; (ii) the device in the power feeding side, (iii) the user'scommunication terminal in the power feeding side, (iv) the device in thepower receiving side, and (v) the user's communication terminal in thepower receiving side, via the communication network, the measuring unitidentification information for identifying a measuring unit thatmeasures a physical amount related to a power amount fed from the devicein the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the device in thepower receiving side, the power feeding management apparatusidentification information for identifying the power feeding managementapparatus, and the authentication information including at least one ofcharacteristic information indicating a characteristic of the measuringunit and a passphrase used for authentication of the measuring unit orthe power feeding management apparatus. In the transaction managementsystem described above, the transaction management apparatus may includean authentication information storage unit that stores in advance (a) atleast one of the measuring unit identification information and the powerfeeding management apparatus identification information and (b) theauthentication information such that they are associated with eachother. In the transaction management system described above, thetransaction management apparatus may include a power feeding managementapparatus authentication unit that verifies the authenticationinformation acquired by the authentication information acquiring unitwith the authentication information stored in the authenticationinformation storage unit in advance, and that authenticates themeasuring unit or the power feeding management apparatus if the acquiredauthentication information matches the stored authenticationinformation.

In the transaction management system described above, the authenticationinformation may be encrypted. In the transaction management systemdescribed above, the transaction management apparatus may include afirst decryption key storage unit that stores a first decryption keycorresponding to a first encryption key used for encrypting theauthentication information. In the transaction management systemdescribed above, the transaction management apparatus may include afirst decryption unit that decrypts the encrypted authenticationinformation by using the first decryption key stored in the decryptionkey storage unit.

In the transaction management system according to the first and thesecond aspects described above, the transaction information may beencrypted. In the transaction management system described above, thetransaction management apparatus may include a second decryption keystorage unit that stores a second decryption key corresponding to asecond encryption key used for encrypting the transaction information.In the transaction management system described above, the transactionmanagement apparatus may include a second decryption unit that decryptsthe encrypted transaction information by using the second decryption keystored in the decryption key storage unit. In the transaction managementsystem described above, the transaction management apparatus may includea settlement unit that settles a charge of the power transaction.

In a third aspect of the present invention, provided is a program forcausing a computer to function as the transaction management systemdescribed above. A non-transitory computer readable medium may also beprovided for storing the program described above.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, provided is a transactionmanagement method for managing a power transaction between a powerfeeding side and a power receiving side. The transaction managementmethod described above includes, for example, a transaction informationacquiring step of acquiring transaction information in which: (a) powerfeeding side identification information for identifying the powerfeeding side; (b) power receiving side identification information foridentifying the power receiving side; and (c) power feeding informationabout a power amount fed from a device in the power feeding side or apower amount fed to a device in the power receiving side are associatedwith one another, from at least one of: (i) a power feeding managementapparatus that manages a power feeding from the power feeding side tothe power receiving side; (ii) the device in the power feeding side,(iii) a user's communication terminal in the power feeding side, (iv)the device in the power receiving side, and (v) a user's communicationterminal in the power receiving side, via a communication network. Thetransaction management method described above includes a transactioninformation storage step for storing the transaction informationacquired in the transaction information acquiring step.

The summary clause does not necessarily describe all necessary featuresof the embodiments of the present invention. The present invention mayalso be a sub-combination of the features described above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates one example of a system configurationof a transaction management system 100.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates one example of a system configurationof a power transaction system 200.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the control box 230.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the power conversion unit 320.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of a power conversion unit 520.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the communication control unit 342.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the power feeding control unit 344.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the transaction control unit 346.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of a charging adaptor 920.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of a charging adaptor 1020.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates one example of a system configurationof a transaction management server 210.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of an information storage unit 1132.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, the present invention is described through the embodimentsof the invention. However, the following embodiments do not limit theclaimed invention. Also, all of combinations of features described inthe embodiments are not necessarily required for a means for solvingproblems of the invention. Note that in the drawings, the same referencenumerals may be applied to the same or similar portions and theredundant descriptions may be omitted.

[Summary of Transaction Management System 100]

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates one example of a system configurationof a transaction management system 100. In the present embodiment, thetransaction management system 100 includes a power feeding managementapparatus 120 and a transaction management apparatus 140. In the presentembodiment, the power feeding management apparatus 120 includes a powerfeeding side identification information acquiring unit 122, a powerreceiving side identification information acquiring unit 124, a powerfeeding information acquiring unit 126, and a transmission unit 128. Inthe present embodiment, the transaction management apparatus 140includes a transaction information acquiring unit 142 and a transactioninformation storage unit 144. In accordance with the present embodiment,the power feeding management apparatus 120 and the transactionmanagement apparatus 140 can transmit and receive information via acommunication network 10.

The communication network 10 may be a transmission path for wiredcommunication, may be a transmission path for wireless communication, ormay be a combination of a transmission path for wireless communicationand a transmission path for wired communication. The communicationnetwork 10 may also include a wireless packet communication network, theInternet, a P2P network, a dedicated line, a VPN and the like. Thecommunication network 10 may include a mobile communication network suchas a cellular phone network, or may include a wireless communicationnetwork such as a wireless MAN (for example, WiMAX (registeredtrademark)), a wireless LAN (for example, WiFi (registered trademark)),Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registered trademark), NFC(Near Field Communication).

In the present embodiment, the transaction management system 100 managesa power transaction between a power feeding side 20 and a powerreceiving side 40. Also, it manages a power feeding from the powerfeeding side 20 to the power receiving side 40. In the presentembodiment, for the purpose of ease of understandings, the transactionmanagement system 100 is described using an exemplary case for feeding apower from power feeding equipment mounted on a vehicle 22 in the powerfeeding side 20 to a vehicle 42 in the power receiving side 40 to chargea power storage apparatus of the vehicle 42.

The power feeding equipment mounted on the vehicle 22 may be illustratedas a power storage apparatus, a charging apparatus, a power generationapparatus and the like. The power generation apparatus may beillustrated as: (i) an alternator which generates a power by using aninternal combustion; (ii) a fuel cell; and (iii) a power generationsystem using natural sources such as a photovoltaic apparatus, and thelike. The power feeding equipment may be in-vehicle equipmentincorporated in the vehicle 22, or may be portable equipment which canbe mounted on the vehicle 22.

The vehicle 22 may be one example of the device in the power feedingside. The vehicle 22 may be one example of the first movable object. Thepower feeding equipment may be one example of the device in the powerfeeding side. A user 24 may be one example of the user in the powerfeeding side. The communication terminal 26 may be one example of theuser's communication terminal in the power feeding side. The vehicle 42may be one example of the device in the power receiving side. Thevehicle 42 may be one example of the second movable object. The powerstorage apparatus of the vehicle 42 may be one example of the device inthe power receiving side. A user 44 may be one example of the user inthe power receiving side. The communication terminal 46 may be oneexample of the user's communication terminal in the power receivingside.

In the present embodiment, the vehicle 22 and the vehicle 42 maytransmit information to and receive information from the power feedingmanagement apparatus 120, through a near field communication or a wiredcommunication. The vehicle 22 and the vehicle 42 may also transmitinformation to and receive information from the communication terminal26 and the communication terminal 46, respectively, through the nearfield communication or the wired communication. The near fieldcommunication may be illustrated as a wireless MAN (for example, WiMAX(registered trademark)), a wireless LAN (for example, WiFi (registeredtrademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), Zigbee (registeredtrademark), NFC (Near Field Communication), and the like.

The vehicle 22 and the vehicle 42 may also have a mobile communicationfunction. In this case, the vehicle 22 and the vehicle 42 may alsotransmit information to and receive information from the transactionmanagement apparatus 140 via the communication network 10. Also, thevehicle 22 and the vehicle 42 may also transmit information to andreceive information from each other via the communication network 10.

In the present embodiment, the communication terminal 26 and thecommunication terminal 46 transmit information to and receiveinformation from the transaction management apparatus 140 via thecommunication network 10. The communication terminal 26 and thecommunication terminal 46 may also transmit information to and receiveinformation from each other via the communication network 10. Thecommunication terminal 26 and the communication terminal 46 may alsotransmit information to and receive information from the vehicle 22 andthe vehicle 42, respectively, through the near field communication orthe wired communication. The communication terminal 26 and thecommunication terminal 46 may also transmit information to and receiveinformation from the power feeding management apparatus 120 through thenear field communication or the wired communication.

The communication terminal 26 and the communication terminal 46 may beillustrated as a personal computer, a mobile terminal and the like. Themobile terminal may be illustrated as a cellular phone, a smart phone, aPDA, a tablet, a notebook computer or a laptop computer, a wearablecomputer and the like. In one embodiment, the communication terminal 26and the communication terminal 46 are implemented by installing aprogram for the power feeding side 20 and a program for the powerreceiving side 40, respectively, in information processing apparatuses.In another embodiment, the communication terminal 26 and thecommunication terminal 46 may be implemented by installing a programhaving both functions for the power feeding side 20 and for the powerreceiving side 40 in information processing apparatuses.

[Description of Each Unit of Transaction Management System 100]

In the present embodiment, the power feeding management apparatus 120manages a power feeding from the power feeding side 20 to the powerreceiving side 40. In the present embodiment, the power feeding sideidentification information acquiring unit 122 acquires power feedingside identification information (which may be referred to as a powerfeeding side ID) for identifying the power feeding side 20 from thevehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26. The power feeding side IDmay be illustrated as identification information of the vehicle 22,identification information of the user 24, identification information ofthe communication terminal 26 and the like. The identificationinformation of the vehicle 22 may be information for identifying thevehicle 22 per se, or may be information for identifying the apparatusmounted on the vehicle 22.

In one embodiment, the power feeding side identification informationacquiring unit 122 acquires the power feeding side ID from the vehicle22 or the communication terminal 26 through the near fieldcommunication. In another embodiment, the power feeding sideidentification information acquiring unit 122 acquires the power feedingside ID from the vehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26 through thewired communication. A system of the wired communication may beillustrated as: a system for connecting the communication terminal 26 toa communication connector provided with the power feeding managementapparatus 120; a system for connecting the vehicle 22 or thecommunication terminal 26 to a communication cable connected to thepower feeding management apparatus 120; and a power line communicationsystem for connecting the vehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26 toa charging cable connected to the power feeding management apparatus120, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the power receiving side identificationinformation acquiring unit 124 acquires power receiving sideidentification information (which may be referred to as a powerreceiving side ID) for identifying the power receiving side 40 from thevehicle 42 or the communication terminal 46. The power receiving side IDmay be illustrated as identification information of the vehicle 42,identification information of the user 44, identification information ofthe communication terminal 46 and the like. The identificationinformation of the vehicle 42 may be information for identifying thevehicle 42 per se, or may be information for identifying the apparatusmounted on the vehicle 42. The power receiving side identificationinformation acquiring unit 124 may acquire the power receiving side IDin a manner similar to the manner in which the power feeding sideidentification information acquiring unit 122 acquires the power feedingside ID.

In the present embodiment, the power feeding information acquiring unit126 acquires power feeding information about a power amount fed from thevehicle 22 or a power amount fed to the vehicle 42. The power feedinginformation may also include information about the power amount fed fromthe vehicle 22 and information about the power amount fed to the vehicle42. The power feeding information may be illustrated as informationindicating: the power amount per se, fed from the vehicle 22; the poweramount per se, fed to the vehicle 42; an integrated value of currentsflowing from the vehicle 22 to the vehicle 42; a decrease in amount ofSOC in the power storage apparatus of the vehicle 22; an increase inamount of SOC in the power storage apparatus of the vehicle 42; astarting time of power feeding; an ending time of power feeding; and astatistical value (for example, a maximum value, a minimum value, amedian value, an average value and the like) for at least one ofcurrents and voltages during power feeding, and the like. The powerfeeding information may also include: information (for example, a model,a serial number and the like of the charging cable) for identifying aninstrument used for power feeding or a type thereof; and informationabout an external environment during power feeding (for example,information indicating a temperature, a humidity and the like), and thelike.

In the present embodiment, the transmission unit 128 transmits each typeof information from the power feeding management apparatus 120 to thetransaction management apparatus 140. For example, the transmission unit128 associates with one another: the power feeding side ID acquired bythe power feeding side identification information acquiring unit 122;the power receiving side ID acquired by the power receiving sideidentification information acquiring unit 124; and the power feedinginformation acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit126, and transmits them to the transaction management apparatus 140. Themethod of associating with one another: the power feeding ID; the powerreceiving ID; and the power feeding information, is not particularlylimited.

Although a communication path and a communication system for theinformation described above are not particularly limited, in oneembodiment, the transmission unit 128 transmits the information to thetransaction management apparatus 140 by using the communication network10, via at least one of the vehicle 22, the communication terminal 26,the vehicle 42 and the communication terminal 46. In another embodiment,the transmission unit 128 may transmit the information to thetransaction management apparatus 140 by using the communication network10, not via the vehicle 22, the communication terminal 26 the vehicle 42or the communication terminal 46.

In the present embodiment, the transaction management apparatus 140manages a power transaction between the power feeding side 20 and thepower receiving side 40. The transaction management apparatus 140 mayalso manage the power feeding side ID, the power receiving side ID andthe power feeding information. In the present embodiment, thetransaction information acquiring unit 142 acquires transactioninformation in which the power feeding side ID, the power receiving sideID and the power feeding information are associated with one another.The transaction information acquiring unit 142 acquires the transactioninformation in which the power feeding side ID, the power receiving sideID and the power feeding information are associated with one another,for example, from at least one of the power feeding management apparatus120, the vehicle 22, the communication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, andthe communication terminal 46, via the communication network 10. In thepresent embodiment, the transaction information storage unit 144 storesthe transaction information acquired by the transaction informationacquiring unit 142.

In one embodiment, the transaction information acquiring unit 142receives the transaction information which includes the power feedingside ID, the power receiving side ID and the power feeding information,from at least one of the power feeding management apparatus 120, thevehicle 22, the communication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, and thecommunication terminal 46. The transaction information may include atleast one of information indicating a position at which power feeding isperformed and information indicating a time at which power feeding isperformed.

In another embodiment, the transaction information acquiring unit 142acquires a plurality of pieces of information from at least one of thepower feeding management apparatus 120, the vehicle 22, thecommunication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, and the communicationterminal 46. The transaction information acquiring unit 142 may alsoacquire a plurality of pieces of information from at least two of thepower feeding management apparatus 120, the vehicle 22, thecommunication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, and the communicationterminal 46. Each of a plurality of pieces of information includes atleast one of the power feeding side ID, the power receiving side ID andthe power feeding information. At least one of a plurality of pieces ofinformation may include at least one of information indicating aposition at which power feeding is performed and information indicatinga time at which power feeding is performed. Also, as the power feedingside ID, the power receiving side ID and the power feeding informationare associated with one another, the transaction information acquiringunit 142 can acquire the transaction information in which the powerfeeding side ID, the power receiving side ID and the power feedinginformation are associated with one another, by processing the receivedinformation as appropriate.

For example, the transaction information acquiring unit 142 receives,from the vehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26, first informationwhich includes a transaction ID for identifying the power transaction,the power feeding side ID and the power feeding information, andreceives, from the vehicle 42 or the communication terminal 46, secondinformation which includes the transaction ID and the power receivingside ID. The transaction information acquiring unit 142 integrates thefirst information and the second information, by using the transactionIDs as a key, to acquire the transaction information. In the embodimentdescribed above, the second information may also include the powerfeeding side ID, instead of the transaction ID or together with thetransaction ID. The second information may also include the powerfeeding information. If the first information and the second informationboth include the power feeding information, the power feedinginformation included in the first information and the power feedinginformation included in the second information can be compared, therebyimproving reliability of the transaction.

As described above, in accordance with the present embodiment, the powerfeeding management apparatus 120 which manages the power feeding fromthe power feeding side 20 to the power receiving side 40 associates withone another: the power feeding side ID; the power receiving side ID; andthe power feeding information, and transmits them to the transactionmanagement apparatus 140. This allows the transaction managementapparatus 140 to acquire the transaction information in which the powerfeeding side ID, the power receiving side ID and the power feedinginformation are associated with one another. This allows the transactionmanagement system 100 to accumulate the history of the powertransactions. As a result, the transaction management system 100 canmanage the overall power transaction from an intermediation to asettlement. This improves convenience of the power transaction, and alsofacilitates a small-scale power transaction such as a transaction amongindividuals. Also, for example, it can suppress falsification of datarelated to the transaction, thereby improving reliability of the powertransaction. In accordance with the present embodiment, particularly,the power transaction between movable objects can be facilitated.

In the present embodiment, the case is described in which the device inthe power feeding side and the device in the power receiving side arevehicles. However, the device in the power feeding side and the devicein the power receiving side are not limited to the present embodiment.In another embodiment, one of the device in the power feeding side andthe device in the power receiving side may be a movable object. Themovable object is not particularly limited, as long as it can move byway of a user's operation or an automated drive (which may be referredto as an automated cruise, a cruise control and the like) by a computermounted thereon.

The movable object may be illustrated as an automobile, a motorcycle, amarine vessel, a flight vehicle and the like. The automobile may beillustrated as an engine vehicle, an electric vehicle, a fuel cellvehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a movable working machine and the like. Theworking machine may move automatically or manually. The working machinemay be illustrated as a lawn mower, a grass cutter, a tiller, a tractor,a carrier, a pump, a sprayer, a scrubber, a snowplow and the like.

The motorcycle may be illustrated as: (i) a motorcycle; (ii) a motorthree-wheeler; and (iii) a stand-up two-wheeler with a power unit suchas a Segway (registered trademark), a Kickboard (registered trademark)with a power unit, and a skateboard with a power unit, and the like. Thepower unit may be (i) an internal combustion such as an engine and amotor, or may be (ii) a combination of a power storage apparatus or apower generation apparatus and an electric motor. The marine vessel maybe illustrated as a ship, a hovercraft, a personal watercraft, asubmarine, a submersible, an underwater motor scooter and the like. Theflight vehicle may be illustrated as an aircraft, an airship or aballoon, a hot air balloon, a helicopter, a drone and the like.

[Specific Configuration of Each Unit of Transaction Management System100]

Each unit of the transaction management system 100 may be implemented byhardware, may be implemented by software, or may be implemented byhardware and software. Each unit of the transaction management system100 may be implemented by a single server, or may be implemented by aplurality of servers. Each unit of the transaction management system 100may also store information by using a distributed ledger technology suchas Blockchain or a distributed network.

If at least a part of components included in the transaction managementsystem 100 are implemented by software, the components may beimplemented in an information processing apparatus having a generalconfiguration, by activating software or a program which definesoperations related to the components. The information processingapparatus described above may include: (i) a data processing apparatuswhich includes a processor such as a CPU and a GPU, an ROM, an RAM, acommunication interface and the like; (ii) an input apparatus such as akeyboard, a touch panel, a camera, a microphone, each type of sensors,and a GPS receiver; (iii) an output apparatus such as a displayapparatus, a speaker, and a vibration apparatus; and (iv) a storageapparatus (including an external storage apparatus) such as a memory andan HDD. At least a part of the transaction management system 100 mayalso be implemented on a virtual server or on a cloud system.

In the information processing apparatus described above, the dataprocessing apparatus or the storage apparatus described above may storethe software or the program described above. The software or the programdescribed above causes, by being executed by a processor, theinformation processing apparatus described above to execute operationsdefined by the software or the program. The software or the programdescribed above may also be stored in a non-transitory computer readablerecording medium.

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates one example of a system configurationof a power transaction system 200. In the present embodiment, the powertransaction system 200 includes a transaction management server 210 anda charging cable 220. In the present embodiment, the charging cable 220includes a control box 230. The charging cable 220 may also include apower feeding side connector 242, a power receiving side connector 244,a power feeding side cable 252, and a power receiving side cable 254.The transaction management server 210 may be one example of thetransaction management apparatus. The charging cable 220 may be oneexample of the power feeding management apparatus and the chargingequipment. The control box 230 may be one example of the power feedingmanagement apparatus.

In the present embodiment, the power transaction system 200 executes:(i) an intermediation process of the power transaction; (ii) anexecution management process of the power transaction; and (iii) asettlement process of the power transaction. In the present embodiment,the transaction management server 210 manages a power transactionbetween the power feeding side 20 and the power receiving side 40. Thetransaction management server 210 may have a configuration similar tothat of the transaction management apparatus 140. In the presentembodiment, the charging cable 220 electrically couples the vehicle 22in the power feeding side 20 to the vehicle 42 in the power receivingside 40. The control box 230 manages the power feeding from the powerfeeding side 20 to the power receiving side 40. The control box 230 mayhave a configuration similar to that of the power feeding managementapparatus 120.

The power feeding side connector 242 is electrically coupled to thevehicle 22. The power feeding side connector 242 is configured to beelectrically coupled to a power source connecting terminal of thevehicle 22, for example. The power receiving side connector 244 iselectrically coupled to the vehicle 42. The power receiving sideconnector 244 is configured to be electrically coupled to the powersource connecting terminal of the vehicle 42, for example. Each of thepower feeding side connector 242 and the power receiving side connector244 may be a plug, or may be a receptacle. The power feeding side cable252 electrically couples the power feeding side connector 242 to thecontrol box 230. The power feeding side cable 252 electrically couplesthe power receiving side connector 244 to the control box 230.

As used herein, to “electrically couple” is not limited to the case inwhich an electric energy is transmitted through a contact system. To“Electrically couple” is a concept which also encompasses the case inwhich an electric energy is transmitted through a non-contact system andthe case in which an electric energy is transmitted through acombination of the contact system and the non-contact system. Also, to“electrically couple” is not limited to the case in which an electricenergy is transmitted between two components without any othercomponents interposed therebetween. To “Electrically couple” is aconcept which also encompasses the case in which an electric energy istransmitted between two components via other components.

In the present embodiment, the case is described in which the controlbox 230 is a part of the charging cable 220. However, the control box230 is not limited to the present embodiment. In another embodiment, atleast a part of the control box 230 may be provided inside an adaptorarranged between the charging cable and the vehicle 22 or the vehicle42. In still another embodiment, at least a part of the control box 230may be mounted on at least one of the vehicle 22 and the vehicle 42. Instill another embodiment, the vehicle 22 and the vehicle 42 may alsoinclude the control boxes 230, respectively.

In the present embodiment, the case is described in which the chargingcable 220, one example of the charging equipment, includes one powerfeeding side cable 252 and one power receiving side cable 254. However,the charging equipment is not limited to the present embodiment. Inanother embodiment, the charging equipment may not include at least oneof the power feeding side cable and the power receiving side cable. Instill another embodiment, the charging equipment may include a pluralityof power feeding side connectors 242 and power feeding side cables 252.Also, the charging equipment may also include a plurality of powerreceiving side connectors 244 and power receiving side cables 254.

[Specific Configuration of Each Unit of Power Transaction System 200]

Each unit of the power transaction system 200 may be implemented byhardware, may be implemented by software, or may be implemented byhardware and software. Each unit of the power transaction system 200 maybe implemented by a single server, or may be implemented by a pluralityof servers. Each unit of the power transaction system 200 may also storeinformation by using a distributed ledger technology such as Blockchainor a distributed network.

If at least a part of components included in the power transactionsystem 200 are implemented by software, the components may beimplemented in an information processing apparatus having a generalconfiguration, by activating software or a program which definesoperations related to the components. The information processingapparatus described above may include: (i) a data processing apparatuswhich includes a processor such as a CPU and a GPU, an ROM, an RAM, acommunication interface and the like; (ii) an input apparatus such as akeyboard, a touch panel, a camera, a microphone, each type of sensors,and a GPS receiver; (iii) an output apparatus such as a displayapparatus, a speaker, and a vibration apparatus; and (iv) a storageapparatus (including an external storage apparatus) such as a memory andan HDD. At least a part of the power transaction system 200 may also beimplemented on a virtual server or on a cloud system.

In the information processing apparatus described above, the dataprocessing apparatus or the storage apparatus described above may storethe software or the program described above. The software or the programdescribed above causes, by being executed by a processor, theinformation processing apparatus described above to execute operationsdefined by the software or the program. The software or the programdescribed above may also be stored in a non-transitory computer readablerecording medium.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the control box 230. In the present embodiment, thecontrol box 230 includes a housing 310, a power conversion unit 320, acurrent sensor 330, and a control unit 340. In the present embodiment,the control unit 340 includes a communication control unit 342, a powerfeeding control unit 344, and a transaction control unit 346.

The power conversion unit 320 may be one example of the switching unit.The current sensor 330 may be one example of the measuring unit and thepower feeding information acquiring unit. The communication control unit342 may be one example of the power feeding side identificationinformation acquiring unit, the power receiving side identificationinformation acquiring unit, the power feeding information acquiringunit, the agreement information acquiring unit, the transmission unit,the communication monitoring unit and the adjustment unit. The powerfeeding control unit 344 may be one example of the restriction unit. Thetransaction control unit 346 may be one example of the power feedinginformation generating unit, the encryption unit and the transactionsubject authentication unit.

In the present embodiment, the housing 310 houses the power conversionunit 320, the current sensor 330 and the control unit 340. In thepresent embodiment, the power feeding side connector 242 and the powerreceiving side connector 244 are arranged outside the housing 310. Thehousing 310 may also house the power feeding side cable 252 and thepower receiving side cable 254. For example, the housing 310 may alsoinclude a winding mechanism (not shown) for the power feeding side cable252 and the power receiving side cable 254.

In the present embodiment, the power conversion unit 320 converts apower input from the power feeding side 20 and outputs the convertedpower to the power receiving side 40. A power conversion type may beillustrated as a DC-DC conversion, an AC-DC conversion, and a DC-ACconversion. The power conversion unit 320 may also control start andstop of the power feeding.

In the present embodiment, the current sensor 330 acquires power feedinginformation about a power amount fed from the vehicle 22 or a poweramount fed to the vehicle 42. For example, the current sensor 330measures a physical amount related to the power amount fed from thevehicle 22 or the power amount fed to the vehicle 42. More specifically,in the present embodiment, the current sensor 330 measures a currentvalue flowing through the charging cable 220. The current sensor 330transmits information acquired by the current sensor 330 to the controlunit 340.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 340 controls operations ofthe control box 230. In the present embodiment, the communicationcontrol unit 342 controls communication between the control box 230 andother devices. Other devices may be illustrated as the vehicle 22, thecommunication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, the communication terminal46, the transaction management server 210 and the like. In the presentembodiment, the power feeding control unit 344 controls operations ofthe power conversion unit 320. This allows the power feeding from thevehicle 22 to the vehicle 42 to be controlled. In the presentembodiment, the transaction control unit 346 controls informationprocessing for the power transaction between the power feeding side 20and the power receiving side 40.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the power conversion unit 320. In the presentembodiment, the power conversion unit 320 includes an input switchingcircuit 420, a voltage conversion circuit 430, and an output switchingcircuit 440. At least one of the input switching circuit 420 and theoutput switching circuit 440 may be one example of the switching unit.

In the present embodiment, the input switching circuit 420 outputs apower input from the power feeding side 20 to an appropriate terminal ofthe voltage conversion circuit 430. In one embodiment, the inputswitching circuit 420 electrically couples one or more terminals of thepower feeding side connector 242 to one or more terminals of the voltageconversion circuit 430, respectively, in accordance with an instructionfrom the power feeding control unit 344. In another embodiment, theinput switching circuit 420 operates such that the terminal of the powerfeeding side connector 242 is not electrically coupled to the terminalof the voltage conversion circuit 430. The input switching circuit 420may also operate to disconnect the electrical coupling between theterminal of the power feeding side connector 242 and the terminal of thevoltage conversion circuit 430. This can stop the power feeding from thepower feeding side 20 to the power receiving side 40.

In the present embodiment, the voltage conversion circuit 430 converts apower input from the input switching circuit 420 and outputs theconverted power to the output switching circuit 440. A power conversiontype may be illustrated as a DC-DC conversion, an AC-DC conversion, anda DC-AC conversion. The voltage conversion circuit 430 may include atleast one of a DC-DC converter, an AC-DC converter, and a DC-ACinverter. The voltage conversion circuit 430 may adjust at least one ofa type of the output power, an output voltage, and an output current, inaccordance with an instruction from the power feeding control unit 344.The type of the output power may be illustrated as a direct current, analternate current, a phase, a frequency and the like.

In the present embodiment, the output switching circuit 440 outputs apower input from the voltage conversion circuit 430 to the powerreceiving side 40. In one embodiment, the output switching circuit 440electrically couples one or more terminals of the voltage conversioncircuit 430 to one or more terminals of the power receiving sideconnector 244, respectively, in accordance with an instruction from thepower feeding control unit 344. In another embodiment, the outputswitching circuit 440 operates such that the terminal of the powerreceiving side connector 244 and the terminal of the voltage conversioncircuit 430 are not electrically coupled. This can stop the powerfeeding from the power feeding side 20 to the power receiving side 40.

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of a power conversion unit 520. In the present embodiment,the power conversion unit 520 is different from the power conversionunit 320 in that it includes one or more AC input connectors 512 and oneor more DC input connectors 514, instead of the power feeding sideconnector 242. Also, the power conversion unit 520 is different from thepower conversion unit 320 in that it includes one or more AC outputconnectors 552 and one or more DC output connectors 554, instead of thepower receiving side connector 244. Each of the AC input connector 512,the DC input connector 514, the AC output connector 552 and the DCoutput connector 554 may be a plug, or may be a receptacle.

In the present embodiment, one end of another charging cable 502 iselectrically coupled to the AC input connector 512 or the DC inputconnector 514. The other end of the charging cable 502 is electricallycoupled to the vehicle 22. This allows the AC input connector 512 or theDC input connector 514 to be electrically coupled to the vehicle 22 viathe charging cable 502. In the present embodiment, one end of anothercharging cable 504 is electrically coupled to the AC output connector552 or the DC output connector 554. The other end of the charging cable504 is electrically coupled to the vehicle 42. This allows the AC outputconnector 552 or the DC output connector 554 to be electrically coupledto the vehicle 42 via the charging cable 504.

The AC input connector 512 may be one example of the power feeding sideconnector and the AC input unit. The DC input connector 514 may be oneexample of the power feeding side connector and the DC input unit. TheAC output connector 552 may be one example of the power receiving sideconnector and the AC output unit. The DC output connector 554 may be oneexample of the power receiving side connector and the DC output unit.The charging cable 502 may be one example of the first charging cable.The charging cable 504 may be one example of the second charging cable.

In accordance with the present embodiment, the voltage conversioncircuit 430 includes a DC-DC converter, an AC-DC converter, and a DC-ACinverter. At least one of the input switching circuit 420 and the outputswitching circuit 440 switches a connection relation between: (i) the ACinput connector 512 and the DC input connector 514; and (ii) the ACoutput connector 552 and the DC output connector 554, and electricallycouples: (i) one of the AC input connector 512 and the DC inputconnector 514; and (ii) one of the AC output connector 552 and the DCoutput connector 554.

For example, the input switching circuit 420 electrically couples, oneor more terminals of the AC input connector 512 or one or more terminalsof the DC input connector 514 to one or more terminals of the voltageconversion circuit 430, respectively, in accordance with an instructionfrom the power feeding control unit 344. Also, the output switchingcircuit 440 electrically couples one or more terminals of the voltageconversion circuit 430 to one or more terminals of the AC outputconnector 552 or one or more terminals of the DC output connector 554,respectively, in accordance with an instruction from the power feedingcontrol unit 344, for example.

This results in various combinations of input types and output typesaccepted. As a result, it allows for the power transaction, irrespectiveof the type of power feeding equipment in the power feeding side 20 (forexample, an outlet, a power generation apparatus, an ordinary chargingapparatus, a high-speed charging apparatus and the like in eachhousehold. Also, it allows the power feeding from a plurality ofvehicles 22 to one vehicle 42, or power feeding from one vehicle 22 to aplurality of vehicles 42.

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the communication control unit 342. In the presentembodiment, the communication control unit 342 includes a near fieldcommunication control unit 612, a wired communication control unit 614,a mobile communication control unit 616, and a communication situationmonitoring unit 620. The near field communication control unit 612 maybe one example of the power feeding side identification informationacquiring unit or the power receiving side identification informationacquiring unit. The wired communication control unit 614 may be oneexample of the power feeding side identification information acquiringunit or the power receiving side identification information acquiringunit. The mobile communication control unit 616 may be one example ofthe transmission unit. The communication situation monitoring unit 620may be one example of the communication monitoring unit and theadjustment unit.

In the present embodiment, the near field communication control unit 612controls a near field communication. Also, the wired communicationcontrol unit 614 controls a wired communication. In one embodiment, atleast one of the near field communication control unit 612 and the wiredcommunication control unit 614 acquires a power feeding side ID from thevehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26. Also, at least one of thenear field communication control unit 612 and the wired communicationcontrol unit 614 acquires a power receiving side ID from the vehicle 42or the communication terminal 46.

In another embodiment, at least one of the near field communicationcontrol unit 612 and the wired communication control unit 614 acquiresinformation used for authentication of the transaction counterpartiesfrom the vehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26. The informationused for authentication of transaction counterparties may also beagreement information described later.

The mobile communication control unit 616 controls a mobilecommunication. For example, the mobile communication control unit 616associates the power feeding side ID and the power receiving side IDacquired by the near field communication control unit 612 or the wiredcommunication control unit 614, with the power feeding informationacquired by the transaction control unit 346, and transmits them to thetransaction management server 210. The information described above mayalso be encrypted. In one embodiment, the mobile communication controlunit 616 transmits information including the power feeding side ID, thepower receiving side ID and the power feeding information to thetransaction management server 210. In another embodiment, the mobilecommunication control unit 616 associates information in which at leasttwo of the power feeding side ID, the power receiving side ID and thepower feeding information are associated with one another, withremaining information, and transmits them to the transaction managementserver 210.

For example, the mobile communication control unit 616 associates firstinformation in which the power feeding side ID is associated with thepower feeding information, with second information in which the powerreceiving side ID is associated with the power feeding information, andtransmits them to the transaction management server 210. Note that thefirst information may be one example of first transaction information.The second information may be one example of second transactioninformation. More specifically, the mobile communication control unit616 transmits the first information to the transaction management server210, for example, via at least one of the vehicle 22 and thecommunication terminal 26, and the communication network 10. The mobilecommunication control unit 616 transmits the second information to thetransaction management server 210, for example, through the vehicle 42or the communication terminal 46 and via the communication network 10.

In another embodiment, the mobile communication control unit 616associates with one another: (i) the power feeding side ID and the powerreceiving side ID acquired by the near field communication control unit612 or the wired communication control unit 614; (ii) the power feedinginformation acquired by the transaction control unit 346; (iii) at leastone of the identification information of the current sensor 330 and theidentification information of the control box 230; and (iv) theauthentication information stored in the transaction control unit 346,and transmits them to the transaction management server 210.

In still another embodiment, the mobile communication control unit 616receives the information transmitted from the transaction managementserver 210. For example, the transaction management server 210intermediates in the power transaction between the power feeding side 20and the power receiving side 40, and generates agreement informationincluding at least one of the power feeding side ID and the powerreceiving side ID. Also, the transaction management server 210 transmitsthe agreement information to: (i) the vehicle 22 or the communicationterminal 26; and (ii) at least one of the vehicle 42 or thecommunication terminal 46. The agreement information may also beencrypted.

In the present embodiment, the communication situation monitoring unit620 monitors communication situations between: the control box 230; and(i) the vehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26 and (ii) the vehicle42 or the communication terminal 46. If the control box 230 detects acommunication error, it transmits to the power feeding control unit 344,information indicating that the error occurs in the communication. Thecommunication error may be illustrated as disconnection of theconnection between the control box 230 and at least one of (i) thevehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26 and (ii) the vehicle 42 orthe communication terminal 46, and the like.

In the present embodiment, the communication situation monitoring unit620 may adjust time intervals for monitoring the communicationsituations. In accordance with one embodiment, the communicationsituation monitoring unit 620 acquires information about a scheduledending time of charging. For example, the communication situationmonitoring unit 620 acquires the information about the scheduled endingtime of charging from the transaction management server 210. Thecommunication situation monitoring unit 620 may also acquire theinformation about the scheduled ending time of charging from the powerfeeding control unit 344. The communication situation monitoring unit620 may also estimate the scheduled ending time of charging based ontemporal changes of the power storage apparatus of the vehicle 42. Then,the communication situation monitoring unit 620 may adjust timeintervals for monitoring the communication situation such that a timeinterval in the first time period is different from a time interval inthe second time period which is closer to the scheduled ending time ofcharging than the first time period. The time interval in the first timeperiod may also be longer than the time interval in the second timeperiod. This can improve efficiency of monitoring. Also, powerconsumption can be suppressed.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the power feeding control unit 344. In the presentembodiment, the power feeding control unit 344 includes a voltagecontrol unit 712, a current control unit 714, and a power feedingrestriction unit 716. The power feeding restriction unit 716 may be oneexample of the restriction unit.

In the present embodiment, the voltage control unit 712 controls anoutput voltage. The voltage control unit 712 may control an outputvoltage by adjusting a setting value of the voltage conversion circuit430. The voltage control unit 712 may control an output voltage based onan instruction of the transaction control unit 346. In the presentembodiment, the current control unit 714 controls an output current. Thecurrent control unit 714 may control an output current by adjusting asetting value of the voltage conversion circuit 430. The current controlunit 714 may control an output current based on an instruction of thetransaction control unit 346.

In the present embodiment, the power feeding restriction unit 716restricts the power feeding from the power feeding side 20 to the powerreceiving side 40. In one embodiment, the power feeding restriction unit716 restricts the power feeding from the power feeding side 20 to thepower receiving side 40, if the communication situation monitoring unit620 detects an error in the communication situation described above. Inanother embodiment, the power feeding restriction unit 716 restrictspower feeding based on an instruction of the transaction control unit346 or the transaction management server 210. For example, the powerfeeding restriction unit 716 restricts power feeding based on a resultof each type of authentication processes in the transaction managementserver 210 or the transaction control unit 346. The authenticationprocess may be illustrated as an authentication process related to atleast one of the power feeding side 20 and the power receiving side 40,an authentication process related to the charging cable 220, the controlbox 230 or the current sensor 330, and the like.

The restriction method of power feeding may be illustrated as stop ofpower feeding, decrease in a power feeding speed and the like. In oneembodiment, the power feeding restriction unit 716 restricts powerfeeding by controlling at least one of the input switching circuit 420and the output switching circuit 440 of the power conversion unit 320 todisconnect an electrical coupling between the power feeding sideconnector 242 and the power receiving side connector 244. In anotherembodiment, the power feeding restriction unit 716 may also lower thepower feeding speed by adjusting a setting value of the voltageconversion circuit 430.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of the transaction control unit 346. In the presentembodiment, the transaction control unit 346 includes a power feedingamount calculating unit 812, a transaction information generating unit814, an encryption unit 816, an agreement information acquiring unit822, a decryption unit 824, an authentication unit 826, an informationstorage unit 830. In the present embodiment, the information storageunit 830 includes an authentication information storage unit 832 and anencryption information storage unit 834. The power feeding amountcalculating unit 812 may be one example of the power feeding informationgenerating unit. The transaction information generating unit 814 may beone example of the power feeding information acquiring unit. Theauthentication unit 826 may be one example of the transaction subjectauthentication unit.

In the present embodiment, the power feeding amount calculating unit 812generates the power feeding information based on a current valuemeasured by the current sensor 330. More specifically, the power feedingamount calculating unit 812 receives measured data of the current valuefrom the current sensor 330. The power feeding amount calculating unit812 calculates a power amount fed from the vehicle 22 or a power amountfed to the vehicle 42, by integrating current values measured by thecurrent sensor 330.

In the present embodiment, the transaction information generating unit814 associates with one another: the power feeding side ID; the powerreceiving side ID; and the power feeding information. For example, thetransaction information generating unit 814 acquires the power feedingID and the power receiving ID acquired by the communication control unit342. Also, the transaction information generating unit 814 acquires thepower feeding information calculated by the power feeding amountcalculating unit 812. The transaction information generating unit 814generates the transaction information which includes the power feedingside ID, the power receiving side ID and the power feeding information.

In the present embodiment, the encryption unit 816 encrypts each type ofinformation. The encryption unit 816 may also encrypt each type ofinformation to which signature data is added. The encryption unit 816may transmit the encrypted information to the transaction managementserver 210 via the communication control unit 342. In one embodiment,the encryption unit 816 encrypts at least one of the power feeding sideID, the power receiving side ID and the power feeding information. Forexample, the encryption unit 816 encrypts the transaction informationgenerated by the transaction information generating unit 814. Theencryption method is not particularly limited, but the encryption unit816 may encrypt the transaction information by using a second encryptionkey stored in the encryption information storage unit 834. The secondencryption key corresponds to a second decryption key stored in thetransaction management server 210.

In another embodiment, the encryption unit 816 may encrypt theauthentication information used for authentication of the charging cable220, the control box 230 or the current sensor 330 in the transactionmanagement server 210. The authentication information includes at leastone of: (i) characteristic information indicating characteristics of thecharging cable 220 or the current sensor 330; and (ii) a passphrase usedfor authentication of the charging cable 220, the control box 230 or thecurrent sensor 330. The characteristics of the charging cable 220 or thecurrent sensor 330 may be illustrated as an electric resistance value,accuracy and the like of the charging cable 220 or the current sensor330.

The encryption method is not particularly limited, but the encryptionunit 816 may encrypt the authentication information by using a firstencryption key stored in the encryption information storage unit 834.The first encryption key corresponds to a first decryption key stored inthe transaction management server 210. The encryption unit 816 may alsoencrypt information in which (a) at least one of: the identificationinformation of the charging cable; the identification information of thecontrol box 230; and the identification information of the currentsensor 330 is associated with (b) the authentication information.Appropriate information in accordance with the identificationinformation described above is selected as the authenticationinformation. Note that the encryption unit 816 may also encryptinformation in which the transaction information is associated with theauthentication information.

In the present embodiment, the agreement information acquiring unit 822acquires the agreement information generated by the transactionmanagement server 210. The agreement information includes informationabout the content of the agreed power transaction. The agreementinformation includes, for example, at least one of the transaction ID,the power feeding side ID, the power receiving side ID, informationindicating a charging amount, information indicating a scheduled endingtime of charging, information indicating a unit price of the power, anda passphrase for authenticating the transaction subject. The agreementinformation may include the power feeding side ID and the powerreceiving side ID. The agreement information acquiring unit 822acquires, for example, the agreement information received by thecommunication control unit 342.

In the present embodiment, the decryption unit 824 decrypts encryptedinformation. For example, if the agreement information acquired by theagreement information acquiring unit 822 is encrypted, the decryptionunit 824 decrypts the agreement information. The agreement informationmay also be encrypted by using a third encryption key which correspondsto a third decryption key stored in the encryption information storageunit 834. This allows the decryption unit 824 to decrypt the agreementinformation by using the third decryption key.

In the present embodiment, the authentication unit 826 authenticates atleast one of the power feeding side 20 and the power receiving side 40to check validity of the concerned party of the power transaction. Forexample, the authentication unit 826 authenticates at least one of thepower feeding side and the power receiving side based on at least one ofthe power feeding side ID and the power receiving side ID included inthe agreement information, and at least one of the power feeding side IDand the power receiving side ID acquired by the communication controlunit 342.

For example, the authentication unit 826 authenticates the power feedingside 20 and the power receiving side 40, if the power feeding side IDincluded in the agreement information matches the power feeding side IDacquired by the communication control unit 342 from the power feedingside 20, and if the power receiving side ID included in the agreementinformation matches the power receiving side ID acquired by thecommunication control unit 342 from the power receiving side 40. Theauthentication unit 826 may also omit authentication of the owner of thecharging cable 220. For example, if the user 24 owns the charging cable220 in the power feeding side 20, and if the power receiving side IDincluded in the agreement information matched the power receiving sideID acquired by the communication control unit 342 from the powerreceiving side 40, the authentication unit 826 authenticates the powerreceiving side 40.

The authentication unit 826 may also acquire information indicating aresult of the authentication process of the charging cable 220, thecontrol box 230 or the current sensor 330 in the transaction managementserver 210. For example, the authentication unit 826 acquiresinformation indicating the result of the authentication processdescribed above, from the transaction management server 210 via thecommunication control unit 342.

If the authentication result satisfies a predetermined condition, theauthentication unit 826 transmits to the power feeding restriction unit716, (i) an instruction for lifting the restriction on the powerfeeding; or (ii) an instruction indicating permission of the powerfeeding. The predetermined condition may be illustrated as: a conditionthat at least one of the power feeding side and the power receiving sideis successfully authenticated; a condition that the charging cable 220,the control box 230 or the current sensor 330 is successfullyauthenticated; and a condition that both of (i) at least one of thepower feeding side and the power receiving side and (ii) the chargingcable 220, the control box 230 or the current sensor 330 aresuccessfully authenticated, and the like. This can further improvereliability of the power transaction.

The authentication unit 826 may receive, from the transaction managementserver 210, a signal indicating that the error in the power transactionis detected. If the authentication unit 826 receives the signaldescribed above, it may transmit an instruction for restricting thepower feeding, to the power feeding restriction unit 716. This canfurther improve reliability of the power transaction.

The information storage unit 830 stores each type of information. Theauthentication information storage unit 832 stores the authenticationinformation which include at least one of the characteristic informationindicating characteristics of the current sensor 330, and a passphraseused for authentication of the control box 230 or the current sensor330. The encryption information storage unit 834 stores an encryptionkey used by the encryption unit 816. The encryption information storageunit 834 stores a decryption key used by the decryption unit 824.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of a charging adaptor 920. In the present embodiment, thecharging adaptor 920 is different from the charging cable 220 in that itincludes a power feeding side connector 942 and a power receiving sideconnector 944 incorporated into the housing 310, instead of the powerfeeding side connector 242 and the power receiving side connector 244provided at distal ends of the power feeding side cable 252 and thepower receiving side cable 254 arranged outside the housing 310. For theother points, it may have a configuration similar to that of thecharging cable 220. In the present embodiment, the power feeding sideconnector 942 is electrically coupled to: (i) a charging cable 912connected an outlet in a house 90; or (ii) another charging cable 902.The power receiving side connector 944 is electrically coupled toanother charging cable 904.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of a charging adaptor 1020. The charging adaptor 1020 isdifferent from the charging cable 220 in that it includes a powerfeeding side connector 942 incorporated into the housing 310, instead ofthe power feeding side connector 242 provided at the distal end of thepower feeding side cable 252 arranged outside the housing 310. For theother points, it may have a configuration similar to that of thecharging cable 220. It is different from the charging cable 220 in thatit includes a power receiving side connector 944 incorporated into thehousing 310, instead of the power receiving side connector 244 providedat the distal end of the power receiving side cable 254 arranged outsidethe housing 310. For the other points, it may have a configurationsimilar to that of the charging cable 220.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates one example of a system configurationof a transaction management server 210. In the present embodiment, thetransaction management server 210 includes a communication control unit1110, a matching unit 1120, an encryption unit 1122, a decryption unit1130, an information storage unit 1132, an authentication unit 1134, anerror detection unit 1136, and a settlement unit 1140.

In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 1110 controlsa communication between the transaction management server 210 and otherdevices. Other devices may be illustrated as at least one of the controlbox 230, the vehicle 22, the communication terminal 26, the vehicle 42,and the communication terminal 46. The communication control unit 1110forwards information acquired from other devices to another appropriatecomponent of the transaction management server 210, for example. In thepresent embodiment, the communication control unit 1110 forwardsinformation acquired from other devices, to the matching unit 1120 orthe decryption unit 1130. The communication control unit 1110 forwards,for example, information acquired from other components of thetransaction management server 210, to other devices.

In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 1110 acquiresthe transaction information in which the power feeding side ID, thepower receiving side ID and the power feeding information are associatedwith one another, from at least one of the control box 230, the vehicle22, the communication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, and the communicationterminal 46, via the communication network 10. In accordance with oneembodiment, the communication control unit 1110 receives the transactioninformation which includes the power feeding side ID, the powerreceiving side ID and the power feeding information. In accordance withanother embodiment, the communication control unit 1110 acquires aplurality of pieces of information from at least one of the powerfeeding management apparatus 120, the vehicle 22, the communicationterminal 26, the vehicle 42, and the communication terminal 46. Thecommunication control unit 1110 may also acquire a plurality of piecesof information from at least two of the power feeding managementapparatus 120, the vehicle 22, the communication terminal 26, thevehicle 42, and the communication terminal 46. Each of a plurality ofpieces of information includes at least one of the power feeding sideID, the power receiving side ID and the power feeding information.

For example, the communication control unit 1110 acquires the firstinformation in which the power feeding side ID is associated with thepower feeding information, from the vehicle 22 or the communicationterminal 26, via the communication network 10. The power feedinginformation in the first information may indicate the power amountcalculated based on the physical amount measured by a device mounted onthe vehicle 22, or may indicate the power amount calculated based on thephysical amount measured by a device mounted on the charging cable 220.Also, the communication control unit 1110 acquires the secondinformation in which the power receiving side ID and is associated withthe power feeding information, from the vehicle 42 or the communicationterminal 46, via the communication network 10. The power feedinginformation in the second information may indicate the power amountcalculated based on the physical amount measured by a device mounted onthe vehicle 42, or may indicate the power amount calculated based on thephysical amount measured by a device mounted on the charging cable 220.

In the present embodiment, the communication control unit 1110 may alsoacquire, from at least one of the control box 230, the vehicle 22, thecommunication terminal 26, the vehicle 42, and the communicationterminal 46, via the communication network 10, information in which (a)at least one of the identification information of the current sensor 330and the identification information of the control box 230 is associatedwith (b) the authentication information. The authentication informationdescribed above may include at least one of: (i) characteristicinformation indicating characteristics of the charging cable 220 or thecurrent sensor 330; and (ii) a passphrase used for authentication of thecharging cable 220, the control box 230 or the current sensor 330.

In the present embodiment, the matching unit 1120 intermediates in thepower transaction between the power feeding side 20 and the powerreceiving side 40. If the power transaction in which the matching unit1120 intermediates reaches an agreement, the matching unit 1120generates the agreement information which includes at least one of thepower feeding side ID and the power receiving side ID. The agreementinformation may include at least one of the power feeding side ID, thepower receiving side ID, information indicating a charging amount,information indicating a scheduled ending time of charging, informationindicating a unit price of the power, and a passphrase forauthenticating the transaction subject.

The agreement information is, for example, transmitted to the controlbox 230 for used for authentication of the concerned party of thetransaction. The agreement information may be directly transmitted tothe control box 230 via the communication network 10, or may betransmitted to the control box 230 via at least one of (i) the vehicle22 or the communication terminal 26, and (ii) the vehicle 42 or thecommunication terminal 46.

In the present embodiment, the encryption unit 1122 encrypts each typeof information. For example, the encryption unit 1122 encrypts theagreement information generated by the matching unit 1120. Theencryption method is not particularly limited, but the encryption unit1122 may encrypt the agreement information by using the third encryptionkey which corresponds to the third decryption key stored in the controlbox 230. The encryption unit 1122 may also encrypt the agreementinformation to which signature data is added. The encryption unit 1122transmits the encrypted agreement information to, for example, at leastone of the control box 230, the vehicle 22, the communication terminal26, the vehicle 42, and the communication terminal 46.

In the present embodiment, the decryption unit 1130 decrypts theencrypted information. In one embodiment, if the authenticationinformation is encrypted with the first encryption key which correspondsto the first decryption key stored in the information storage unit 1132,the decryption unit 1130 decrypts the encrypted authenticationinformation by using the first decryption key. In another embodiment, ifthe transaction information is encrypted with the second encryption keywhich corresponds to the second decryption key stored in the informationstorage unit 1132, the decryption unit 1130 decrypts the encryptedtransaction information by using the second decryption key.

The decryption unit 1130 forwards the information received from thecommunication control unit 1110 or the decrypted data thereof to otherappropriate components. For example, the decryption unit 1130 forwardsthe transaction information generated by the control box 230 to theinformation storage unit 1132 and the error detection unit 1136. Thedecryption unit 1130 forwards the authentication information generatedby the control box 230 to the authentication unit 1134.

In the present embodiment, the information storage unit 1132 stores eachtype of information. The information storage unit 1132 stores, forexample, the transaction information acquired by the communicationcontrol unit 1110. The information storage unit 1132 may also store theauthentication information to be used for the authentication process inthe authentication unit 1134. The information storage unit 1132 stores,for example, the identification information of the charging cable 220,the control box 230 or the current sensor 330 and at least one of: (i)the characteristic information indicating characteristics of thecharging cable 220 or the current sensor 330; and (ii) a passphrase usedfor authentication of the charging cable 220, the control box 230 or thecurrent sensor 330, such that they are associated with one another.

The authentication unit 1134 executes each type of authenticationprocesses. For example, the authentication unit 1134 verifies theauthentication information acquired by the communication control unit1110 with the authentication information stored in the informationstorage unit 1132 in advance, and if the former matches the latter, itauthenticates the charging cable 220, the control box 230 or the currentsensor 330. The authentication unit 1134 may transmit the authenticationresult to the control box 230. The authentication result may be directlytransmitted to the control box 230 via the communication network 10, ormay be transmitted to the control box 230 via at least one of (i) thevehicle 22 or the communication terminal 26, and (ii) the vehicle 42 orthe communication terminal 46.

In the present embodiment, the error detection unit 1136 detects anerror in the power transaction. For example, the error detection unit1136 compares the power amount indicated by the first informationacquired by the communication control unit 1110 with the power amountindicated by the second information acquired by the communicationcontrol unit 1110. The error detection unit 1136 determines that anerror occurs in the power transaction, if a difference between the poweramount indicated by the first information and the power amount indicatedby the second information is larger than a predetermined value.

If the error detection unit 1136 detects an error in the powertransaction, it may transmit information about the error to the controlbox 230. The information described above may be directly transmitted tothe control box 230 via the communication network 10, or may betransmitted to the control box 230 via at least one of (i) the vehicle22 or the communication terminal 26, and (ii) the vehicle 42 or thecommunication terminal 46.

Irrespective of whether an error occurs in the power transaction, theerror detection unit 1136 may transmit at least one of the power amountindicated by the first information and the power amount indicated by thesecond information, to at least one of the vehicle 22 or thecommunication terminal 26 and the vehicle 42 or the communicationterminal 46. This allows the user 24, for example, to monitor thetransaction by checking the power amount indicated by the firstinformation and the power amount indicated by the second information, byusing the communication terminal 26. The user 24 can also monitor thetransaction by checking a remaining battery amount displayed on aninstrument of the vehicle 22 and a transaction power amount displayed onthe display apparatus of the communication terminal 26.

The settlement unit 1140 settles charges of the power transaction. Forexample, the settlement unit 1140 calculates the charges by multiplyinga power amount fed from the power feeding side 20 to the power receivingside 40 by the unit price of the power included in the agreementinformation. The settlement unit 1140 may transmit information about thecharges and the breakdown thereof to the communication terminal 26 andthe communication terminal 46. The settlement unit 1140 may cause anindication to be displayed for requesting the user 24 and the user 44 tocheck the charges. The settlement unit 1140 may receive informationindicating that each user checked the charges from the communicationterminal 26 and the communication terminal 46. The settlement unit 1140may also have a payment function. The payment method is not particularlylimited.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates one example of an internalconfiguration of an information storage unit 1132. In the presentembodiment, the information storage unit 1132 includes a transactioninformation storage unit 1210, an agreement information storage unit1212, an encryption information storage unit 1214, an authenticationinformation storage unit 1216, a user information storage unit 1218, anda settlement information storage unit 1220.

The transaction information storage unit 1210 stores the transactioninformation acquired by the communication control unit 1110. Theagreement information storage unit 1212 stores the agreement informationgenerated by the matching unit 1120. The encryption information storageunit 1214 stores an encryption key to be used for an encryption processin the encryption unit 1122. The encryption information storage unit1214 stores a decryption key to be used for a decryption process in thedecryption unit 1130. For example, the encryption information storageunit 1214 stores the first decryption key and the second decryption keydescribed above. The authentication information storage unit 1216 storesin advance: (a) at least one of the identification information of thecontrol box 230 and the identification information of the current sensor330; and (b) the authentication information, such that they areassociated with one another. The user information storage unit 1218stores information about each user. The settlement information storageunit 1220 stores information indicating charges of the power involvedwith the transaction.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, thetechnical scope of the invention is not limited to the above describedembodiments. It is apparent to persons skilled in the art that variousalterations and improvements can be added to the above-describedembodiments. Also, unless a technical contradiction occurs, the mattersdescribed in the particular embodiment can be applied to anotherembodiment. It is also apparent from the scope of the claims that theembodiments added with such alterations or improvements can be includedin the technical scope of the invention.

The operations, procedures, steps, and stages of each process performedby an apparatus, system, program, and method shown in the claims,embodiments, or diagrams can be performed in any order as long as theorder is not indicated by “prior to,” “before,” or the like and as longas the output from a previous process is not used in a later process.Even if the process flow is described using phrases such as “first” or“next” in the claims, embodiments, or diagrams, it does not necessarilymean that the process must be performed in this order.

What is claimed is:
 1. A transaction management system comprising atransaction management apparatus that manages a power transactionbetween a power feeding side and a power receiving side, wherein thetransaction management apparatus includes: a transaction informationacquiring unit that acquires transaction information in which: (a) powerfeeding side identification information for identifying the powerfeeding side; (b) power receiving side identification information foridentifying the power receiving side; and (c) power feeding informationabout a power amount fed from a device in the power feeding side or apower amount fed to a device in the power receiving side are associatedwith one another, from at least one of: (i) a power feeding managementapparatus that manages a power feeding from the power feeding side tothe power receiving side; (ii) the device in the power feeding side,(iii) a user's communication terminal in the power feeding side, (iv)the device in the power receiving side, and (v) a user's communicationterminal in the power receiving side, via a communication network; atransaction information storage unit that stores the transactioninformation acquired by the transaction information acquiring unit; anauthentication information acquiring unit that acquires information inwhich (a) at least one of: measuring unit identification information andpower feeding management apparatus identification information isassociated with (b) authentication information, from at least one of:(i) the power feeding management apparatus; (ii) the device in the powerfeeding side, (iii) the user's communication terminal in the powerfeeding side, (iv) the device in the power receiving side, and (v) theuser's communication terminal in the power receiving side, via thecommunication network, the measuring unit identification information foridentifying a measuring unit that measures a physical amount related toa power amount fed from the device in the power feeding side or a poweramount fed to the device in the power receiving side, the power feedingmanagement apparatus identification information for identifying thepower feeding management apparatus, and the authentication informationincluding at least one of characteristic information indicating acharacteristic of the measuring unit and a passphrase used forauthentication of the measuring unit or the power feeding managementapparatus; an authentication information storage unit that stores inassociation and in advance (a) at least one of the measuring unitidentification information and the power feeding management apparatusidentification information and (b) the authentication information; and apower feeding management apparatus authentication unit that verifies theauthentication information acquired by the authentication informationacquiring unit with the authentication information stored in theauthentication information storage unit in advance, and thatauthenticates the measuring unit or the power feeding managementapparatus if the acquired authentication information matches the storedauthentication information.
 2. The transaction management systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a power feeding managementapparatus that manages a power feeding from the power feeding side tothe power receiving side, wherein the power feeding management apparatusincludes: a power feeding side identification information acquiring unitthat acquires the power feeding side identification information from adevice in the power feeding side or a user's communication terminal inthe power feeding side; a power receiving side identificationinformation acquiring unit that acquires the power receiving sideidentification information from a device in the power receiving side ora user's communication terminal in the power receiving side; a powerfeeding information acquiring unit that acquires the power feedinginformation; and a transmission unit that associates with one anotherand transmits to the transaction management apparatus: the power feedingside identification information acquired by the power feeding sideidentification information acquiring unit; the power receiving sideidentification information acquired by the power receiving sideidentification information acquiring unit; and the power feedinginformation acquired by the power feeding information acquiring unit. 3.The transaction management system according to claim 2, wherein (i) thepower feeding management apparatus is provided as a part of a chargingequipment that transmits an electric energy between the device in thepower feeding side and the device in the power receiving side; or (ii)at least one part of the power feeding management apparatus is providedinside an adaptor arranged between the charging equipment and the devicein the power feeding side or the device in the power receiving side. 4.The transaction management system according to claim 1, wherein thetransaction information acquiring unit acquires first transactioninformation in which the power feeding side identification informationis associated with the power feeding information, from the device in thepower feeding side or the user's communication terminal in the powerfeeding side via the communication network, and acquires secondtransaction information in which the power receiving side identificationinformation is associated with the power feeding information, from thedevice in the power receiving side or the user's communication terminalin the power receiving side via the communication network, and thetransaction management apparatus further includes a comparison unit thatcompares a power amount indicated by the first transaction informationwith a power amount indicated by the second transaction information. 5.The transaction management system according to claim 1, wherein thetransaction management apparatus further includes: an intermediationunit that intermediates in the power transaction between the powerreceiving side and the power feeding side; and an agreement informationgenerating unit that generates agreement information including at leastone of the power feeding side identification information and the powerreceiving side identification information, if the power transaction inwhich the intermediation unit intermediates reaches an agreement.
 6. Thetransaction management system according to claim 5, wherein thetransaction management apparatus further includes an encryption unitthat encrypts the agreement information by using a third encryption keythat corresponds to a third decryption key stored in the power feedingmanagement apparatus.
 7. The transaction management system according toclaim 1, wherein the authentication information is encrypted, and thetransaction management apparatus includes: a first decryption keystorage unit that stores a first decryption key corresponding to a firstencryption key used for encrypting the authentication information; and afirst decryption unit that decrypts the encrypted authenticationinformation by using the first decryption key stored in the firstdecryption key storage unit.
 8. The transaction management systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the transaction information is encrypted,and the transaction management apparatus includes: a second decryptionkey storage unit that stores a second decryption key corresponding to asecond encryption key used for encrypting the transaction information;and a second decryption unit that decrypts the encrypted transactioninformation by using the second decryption key stored in the seconddecryption key storage unit.
 9. The transaction management systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the transaction management apparatusfurther includes a settlement unit that settles a charge of the powertransaction.
 10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storingthereon a program for causing a computer to function as a power feedingmanagement apparatus by performing operations comprising: a transactioninformation acquiring step of acquiring, by the computer, transactioninformation in which: (a) power feeding side identification informationfor identifying the power feeding side; (b) power receiving sideidentification information for identifying the power receiving side; and(c) power feeding information about a power amount fed from a device inthe power feeding side or a power amount fed to a device in the powerreceiving side are associated with one another, from at least one of:(i) the power feeding management apparatus that manages a power feedingfrom the power feeding side to the power receiving side; (ii) the devicein the power feeding side, (iii) a user's communication terminal in thepower feeding side, (iv) the device in the power receiving side, and (v)a user's communication terminal in the power receiving side, via acommunication network; a transaction information storage step ofstoring, by the computer, the transaction information acquired in thetransaction information acquiring step an authentication informationacquiring step of acquiring, by the computer, information in which (a)at least one of: measuring unit identification information and powerfeeding management apparatus identification information is associatedwith (b) authentication information, from at least one of: (i) the powerfeeding management apparatus; (ii) the device in the power feeding side,(iii) the user's communication terminal in the power feeding side, (iv)the device in the power receiving side, and (v) the user's communicationterminal in the power receiving side, via the communication network, themeasuring unit identification information for identifying a measuringunit that measures a physical amount related to a power amount fed fromthe device in the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the devicein the power receiving side, the power feeding management apparatusidentification information for identifying the power feeding managementapparatus, and the authentication information including at least one ofcharacteristic information indicating a characteristic of the measuringunit and a passphrase used for authentication of the measuring unit orthe power feeding management apparatus; an authentication informationstorage step of storing, by the computer, in association and in advance(a) at least one of the measuring unit identification information andthe power feeding management apparatus identification information and(b) the authentication information; and a power feeding managementapparatus authentication step of verifying, by the computer, theauthentication information acquired in the authentication informationacquiring step with the authentication information stored in theauthentication information storage step in advance, and thatauthenticates the measuring unit or the power feeding managementapparatus if the acquired authentication information matches the storedauthentication information.
 11. A transaction management method formanaging a power transaction between a power feeding side and a powerreceiving side by using a computer, the transaction management methodcomprising: a transaction information acquiring step of acquiring, bythe computer, transaction information in which: (a) power feeding sideidentification information for identifying the power feeding side; (b)power receiving side identification information for identifying thepower receiving side; and (c) power feeding information about a poweramount fed from a device in the power feeding side or a power amount fedto a device in the power receiving side are associated with one another,from at least one of: (i) a power feeding management apparatus thatmanages a power feeding from the power feeding side to the powerreceiving side; (ii) the device in the power feeding side, (iii) auser's communication terminal in the power feeding side, (iv) the devicein the power receiving side, and (v) a user's communication terminal inthe power receiving side, via a communication network; a transactioninformation storage step of storing, by the computer, the transactioninformation acquired in the transaction information acquiring step anauthentication information acquiring step of acquiring, by the computer,information in which (a) at least one of: measuring unit identificationinformation and power feeding management apparatus identificationinformation is associated with (b) authentication information, from atleast one of: (i) the power feeding management apparatus; (ii) thedevice in the power feeding side, (iii) the user's communicationterminal in the power feeding side, (iv) the device in the powerreceiving side, and (v) the user's communication terminal in the powerreceiving side, via the communication network, the measuring unitidentification information for identifying a measuring unit thatmeasures a physical amount related to a power amount fed from the devicein the power feeding side or a power amount fed to the device in thepower receiving side, the power feeding management apparatusidentification information for identifying the power feeding managementapparatus, and the authentication information including at least one ofcharacteristic information indicating a characteristic of the measuringunit and a passphrase used for authentication of the measuring unit orthe power feeding management apparatus; an authentication informationstorage step of storing, by the computer, in association and in advance(a) at least one of the measuring unit identification information andthe power feeding management apparatus identification information and(b) the authentication information; and a power feeding managementapparatus authentication step of verifying, by the computer, theauthentication information acquired in the authentication informationacquiring step with the authentication information stored in theauthentication information storage step in advance, and thatauthenticates the measuring unit or the power feeding managementapparatus if the acquired authentication information matches the storedauthentication information.